Epidemiologic Trends in Drug Abuse - Community Epidemiology Work Group - Volume I - June 2005
NIH Pub. No.:06-5281A
This report provides an ongoing assessment of drug abuse in major metropolitan areas of the United States with the purpose of keeping both public and private sector policymakers and researchers informed with current and accurate data.

Epidemiologic Trends in Drug Abuse - Community Epidemiology Work Group - Volume II - June 2005
NIH Pub. No. 06-5282A
This report provides an in-depth analysis of the epidemiologic trends and special reports for a limited audience made up primarily of drug abuse researchers who utilize this volume to identify potential areas for further research.

NIDA Science & Practice Perspectives, Volume 3, Number 1
NIH Pub. No.: 06-5768
In this issue, the journal offers Research Reviews on the neurobiology of cocaine addiction and on the common co-occurrence of mood disorders and substance abuse disorders. The issue's two Clinical Perspectives present a veteran clinician's reflections on the status of methadone treatment 40 years after it was introduced and a summary of the broad array of institutional and individual stakeholders in one well-established Oregon treatment program. Also featured is a multi-voiced narrative of a research-practice collaboration between researchers at RAND Corporation and the community treatment providers at Behavioral Health Services in Los Angeles.

Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2004: Volume I Secondary School Students 2004
NIH Pub. No. 05-5727
This annual monograph reports the prevalence of drug use among American secondary students (specifically 8th, 10th and 12th graders). The trends are used for understanding the changing drug abuse problems and for formulating the appropriate intervention (prevention/treatment) policies.

Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2004: Volume II College Students and Young Adults Ages 19-45, 2004
NIH Pub. No. 05-5728
This annual monograph reports trends in drug use by populations based on gender, college plans, regions of the country, population density, race/ethnicity, and parents' education. The trends are used for understanding the changing drug abuse problems and for formulating the appropriate intervention (prevention/treatment) policies.

NIDA Notes

NIDA Notes Volume 20 Issue No. 3 (Archives)
NIH Pub. No. 05-3478
NCADI #NN0077
The Director's Column addresses the alarming upward trend of inhalant abuse among teenagers. Even though the level of overall drug abuse among teenagers has declined, according to the Monitoring the Future survey, inhalant abuse is a notable exception. In the past 2 years, the percentage of eighth-graders who have abused inhalants even once has increased to 17.3 percent. To help parents spot the signs of abuse and get the information and help they need, NIDA has created a new website devoted to the dangers of inhalants: http//inhalants.drugabuse.gov. The site offers readers science-based information on inhalant abuse so that adults can learn the facts and communicate with children in a way that guides them toward healthy life choices. In addition, NIDA joined leaders of the Community Anti-Coalitions of America to discuss the magnitude of youth inhalant abuse, and participated in the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition's National "Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week" in March of this year.

The lead story is an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of expanded HIV testing on a routine basis in outpatient health care settings, and a comparison of the costs with other routine health tests. Drs. Gillian Sanders and A. David Paltiel used computer models to determine whether it would be cost-effective to extend routine voluntary screening to subpopulations with a moderate prevalence of infection, or to the whole population. The study updates previous models by incorporating the use of state-of-the-art antiretroviral treatment for HIV. The analysis found that the cost-effectiveness of a one-time HIV test was about $15,078 for every year of life gained in a hypothetical population, taking reduced transmission to partners into account; when compared with the cost-effectiveness of other routine tests, such as mammograms or colon cancer tests, the HIV testing was considerably less expensive. When the researchers then compared current practice with routine voluntary HIV testing among populations with varying prevalences of HIV infection, they concluded that voluntary testing every 3 to 5 years in all populations except those with the lowest prevalence would increase survival at a comparatively attractive cost by U.S. standards.

Other research findings include:

NIDA-supported investigators have identified a pair of proteins, called
thrombospondins, that direct the formation of synapses-the cell-to-cell
connections that control the flow of information through the brain.
Addictive drugs disrupt communication in the brain in part by altering the
synapses. Understanding how thrombospondins contribute to synapse
formation may lead to improved treatment for drug addiction, which is
characterized in part by an excess of synapses in the brain.

A single meeting with a peer addiction counselor during a routine medical
visit has been shown to help out-of-treatment cocaine and opiate abusers
attain abstinence. A study conducted at three Boston clinics revealed that
a motivational interview conducted by individuals from the same
ethnically mixed communities as the drug abusers helped more abusers
remain abstinent from cocaine and opiates than those who simply received
printed information on how to seek treatment. A similar percentage from
both groups sought drug treatment in the six months after the encounters,
thus the higher rates of abstinence among the group who received the
interview suggests that the interview itself is beneficial, not simply a
means to get abusers into treatment.

New evidence shows that acetaldehyde, a chemical constituent of tobacco
smoke, is a factor in the heightened vulnerability of adolescents to tobacco
addiction. A NIDA-supported animal study showed that the combination
of acetaldehyde and nicotine had a stronger reinforcing effect on
adolescent rats than on adult rats, and a stronger effect than either
acetaldehyde or nicotine alone. By testing rats of various ages in self-
administration of nicotine, acetaldehyde, a combination of the two, or
saline researchers found that the youngest rats demonstrated the
greatest preference for the combination, and that this preference
diminished with age.

The Bulletin Board covers the results of the 9th annual PRISM Awards, which aired September 4 on the FX cable channel. The movie Ray won the award in the wide release feature film category for its realistic portrayal of singer Ray Charles's drug abuse. Jamie Foxx won for his performance in the film's title role. Another Bulletin Board reports on NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow's discussion on drugs and crime in a Capitol Hill briefing sponsored by the Friends of NIDA, a coalition of private-sector organizations in the drug abuse field that support NIDA's mission. The Tearoff highlights NIDA's website on HIV/AIDS and drug abuse, hiv.drugabuse.gov.

CTN-Related Publications

Two MIEDAR papers have recently been accepted for publication from the CTN 0006
and 0007 (Motivational Incentives in Drug Free and Methadone Clinics) studies: Accepted in Archives of General Psychiatry - J. Peirce et al. "Lower Cost Incentives Increase Stimulant Abstinence in Methadone Maintenance Treatment" accepted by American Journal of Psychiatry - J. Roll et al. "Contingency Management for the Treatment of Methamphetamine Use Disorders".

During the months August - December, 2005, eight editions of the CTN Bulletin Board were distributed. The Bulletin Board is an electronic report on the progress of the protocols, committees, and node activity in the CTN.

A patient recruitment brochure was translated to Spanish and submitted for approval for CTN Protocol - Brief Strategic Family Therapy (CTN-0014) for distribution throughout the Network.

A patient recruitment brochure was developed and submitted for approval for CTN Protocol - Smoking Cessation Study for Smokers with ADHD (CTN-0029) for distribution throughout the Network.

A patient recruitment brochure was developed and is pending submission for CTN Protocol - Randomized Control Trial for ADHD in Adolescents with Substance Use Disorders (CTN-0028).

A pamphlet listing General Interviewing Guidelines for CTN clinical staff was developed and is pending submission for approval before distribution throughout the Network.

International Program E-News Letter

The NIDA International Program issues an E-News Letter every other month to inform the international drug abuse research community about recent events, funding opportunities, NIDA's research training and exchange programs for international scientists, and forthcoming meetings.

October 2005 - This issue reported on the reissued Program Announcement supporting International Research Collaboration on Drug Addiction, PA-05-050; the NIDA Director's Seminar featuring the Foresight Brain Science, Addiction and Drugs Project; and announced the abstract deadlines for the 2006 NIDA International Forum.

December 2006 - This issue reported on the inhalant abuse meeting cosponsored in November by the NIDA International Program, the Fogarty International Center, and partner agencies in Canada and Mexico.

Vocci, F. and Ling, W. Medications Development: Successes and Challenges. Pharmacology and Therapeutics 108, pp. 94-108, 2005. This publication was part of a special issue devoted to medications development for addictive disorders. Dr. Vocci served as the guest editor for the issue.